


Purely Platonic

by dmux86



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Anti-Social Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper Loves Jughead Jones, F/M, Getting Back Together, Hospitalization, Jughead Jones Loves Betty Cooper, Misunderstandings, Monagamous Jughead Jones, Mutual Pining, Not Beta Read, References to Cheating, Season Five Fix-it, and if you love someone you don't date the guy you cheated on him with, canon compliant-ish through 5x03, eventually, it's really that simple people, one character for minor injuries and one for the birth of a child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:34:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29271066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dmux86/pseuds/dmux86
Summary: One last chance to pretend Riverdale isn't going to throw away everything I like about Jughead (and roughly half of what I like about Betty) after the time skip... this is the closest I can get to reconciling the casting and filming information we have with how the characters should be based on the first four seasons and/or me having any hope of rooting for (canon) Bughead as a ship going forward.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	Purely Platonic

Betty is back in Riverdale for the first time in two years, and only the fourth time since she left for Yale. She arrives at the house late on Friday afternoon, thank fully with her mother still at work, puts her stuff away in the room she grew up and fell in love in and then heads down to Pop's, walking along the quiet streets and noting the changes... and lack there of.

She got a call from Archie, and a field assignment, literally within an hour of each other last week and put together a plan to take care of both issues. She's going to teach shop at Riverdale High School, an elective only available periods a day out of six, while digging into the missing persons case and the weird rumors about a Mothman in the woods. Exactly the sort of thing that Riverdale is known for, and she's still not sure if she's alright with being back here.

More so due to all the unresolved issues she has to confront, if everyone else came back as Archie promised they would. A BFF she let down and lost touch with, only hearing about her wedding by reading a gossip blog over someone's shoulder at work instead of being the maid of honor as she should have been. The childhood crush and friend who invited her back despite them not having spoken in ages, with whom she ruined everything grasping at nostalgia. And of course the fourth and (in her biased mind) most important member of their once tight-knit circle, the love of her life.

Betty Cooper has told him he was just that in high school, threw it all away, and then spent seven years confirming it... missing him more and more and finding it harder and harder to pretend to enjoy the dates she forced herself to go on. The guys she'd meet in the library or at a house party or in training, drawn to her curves and smile and maybe if she was lucky her taste in movies or sense of humor... but none of them knowing the first thing about how to wake her up from a nightmare, which types of chocolate she liked while on her period, or able to complete her sentences and stories from their shared childhood.

She had already been seeking out a way to reconnect with him after seeing his book on the shelf of her local bookstore, and while this would obviously be a great opportunity to do just that... part of her would have preferred to do it somewhere else. Away from Riverdale and all the memories, both good and bad and both mixed together, that she and Jughead Jones had made in this wicked little town.

Arriving at Pop's as the rain started to fall, Betty stepped inside and was greeted by a beautiful young woman, apparently Pop's grandaughter... just finished with college and preparing to take over the family business, as the blonde learned while sitting at the counter instead of in the 'usual' booth that still somehow felt like his. Especially since he was apparently the only one to show up to their one-year reunion. She had woken up too late, missing her train home and arriving less than twelve hours after he had left according to Pop Tate. She hadn't stuck around, leaving for the first of many internships and keeping busy to avoid the guilt, the same guilt that constantly made her refuse to talk to Jughead about missing reunions, illicit kisses, even the pills she took at the start of junior year. 

As she finishes her meal, Pop finally arrives himself, smiling and pulling her in for a hug to both greet her and whisper "You didn't hear it from me but your boy is already back in town. They rebuilt the old trailer park, he's been by twice already" 

Betty blushes, nodding her thanks and escaping just a bit too quickly to be polite. She doesn't head south, but goes home, spends time with Alice, settles in... and wakes up far too early the next morning, heart racing and unable to resist any longer. Getting dressed in a cute turtleneck, flattering jeans, and boots with just the right amount of heel she sets off barely after sunrise, not even noticing the truck in the driveway next door that a certain redhead arrived in after midnight, bringing the last of his things back from Chicago where his mother kept them.

Arriving at that trailer park she realizes she's not sure which one is his, but then she finds his bike and the helmet still engraved with a crown, and despite her fear of how badly this could go she smiles, walking up the steps and knocking just hard enough to wake him up if he's still in bed.

But when the door opens it's not a tall dark haired man, or even some other Serpent or Southsider she knows... it's a gorgeous girl, roughly her height but barefoot, her long golden legs barely covered by a familiar looking flannel shirt and nothing else, and her long hair a mess from sleep or at least time spent in a bed.

Betty's mouth goes dry, unable to speak for a moment as the other girl looks her over, asking almost rudely "Can I help you?" before the trained FBI agent manages to collect herself enough to ask "Do you know where umm... Jughead Jones lives?", all but pleading for the answer to be one of the other trailers.

"He's here... still in bed. Do you need me to wake him up? Is he in some kind of trouble again?" is the answer she gets, and all she can do is shake her head and stammer out "No, sorry, just... have to go... ", turning and bolting away. She's around the corner when she hears a familiar voice, thick with sleep, call out "Someone at the door Jessica?" and she breaks into a run, unable to face him now as she starts to cry. 

She'd never come close to spending the night with someone other than him, and between his promises of loving her forever and his general attitude towards both sex and socializing in general she hadn't even considered the possibility that Jughead would move on. That someone else would wake up next to him, wearing nothing but one of his soft warm flannels shirts, make him breakfast and spend a Saturday morning in bed doing nothing that requires clothes.

Betty is all cried out, eyes puffy and red, by the time she gets back to Elm Street, running into her second favorite redhead on the front porch of the house his mother had never managed to sell... nobody with any sense would move to Riverdale anymore, and already she was regretting her return. But her oldest friend gave her his classic smile, and though it was slightly awkward hugging him she followed Archie Andrews inside to help him clean up the house and make it livable again.

They caught each other up on their lives over the past seven years, sharing a mix of funny stories and new traumas in the house where they had spent so much time together over the years. Neither of them mentioned their dark haired counterparts, Betty simply saying "Not ready to talk about it Arch" when he asks about the obvious signs of her distress, and at the end of the night they make their way to Pop's (again) for dinner.

It's so much simpler reconnecting with him, despite the knowledge that their shared mistake is at least part of the reason everything fell apart, and there's a moment where she wonders if maybe... just maybe... the mistake was made in the bunker instead of in his garage. But she remembers the way Jughead looked when he found out, the way she felt when she met this 'Jessica' (a thousand times worse than Seven Minutes in Heaven back in Sophomore year), the way she had been dreaming about a man with dark hair every night for the past month... and she knew that it wasn't Archie who she would now call 'the one that got away' if anyone dared to ask. 

Just as they were finishing their shakes, like a twisted bit of déjà vu, Veronica strolls in... but this time she's not alone. The introduction to Chad is beyond awkward, especially when Veronica tosses in a "Glad to see you two getting along like old times" before the two of them head down into the speakeasy. 

The implication of those words weighs heavy as Betty and Archie walk back home, a motorcycle passing by in the night too quickly for Betty to see if she knows the rider, and she flees inside when it looks like he might want to dig up ancient and painful history. She doesn't completely avoid Archie between then and the start of teacher workdays at school on Wednesday, but they certainly don't have any sort of heart-to-heart. 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jughead parks the bike at Pop's, taking a moment to breath after seeing the blonde and redhead on his way down from the school, having to meet with the new principal about some of his more... daring... reading list choices. He hoped he was seeing things, like he had for a moment six years before when nobody else arrived at the diner and a high school couple walked in.

He got a bite to eat, debated heading downstairs for a drink, but remembering that Veronica was back in town he decided to head back to the trailer he was subletting for the school year while Jessica was at college... their last night as 'roommates' approaching quickly, though not quickly enough for the young man who had gotten used to being properly alone over the past several years. Opening his half-empty bottle of whiskey from last night, he resumed typing up more of the useless and unreadable drivel he'd been reduced to after his first book was finished almost seven months before. Jessica yelled at him about the mess and the drinking and swore up and down that she would cancel his contract rather than risk him burning down the place that her mother had left her before storming off to spend a night with her soon to be long-distance girlfriend.

Jughead was stone cold sober the first day of staff meetings and classes, avoiding the long blonde hair (sans pony-tail, which made him feel strangely betrayed till he remember he hadn't worn a beanie in years) as much as possible thought a few stiff greetings were inevitable. He wasn't sure what worried him more, that she wanted to reconnect (on any level) or that she wanted to avoid him too, or was reconnecting with someone else (it was hard to miss that she and Archie left and arrived together just like Freshman year) instead. The only person he spoke more than two words to outside of his classes was Tabitha, whose warm smile and close association with his favorite source of food was just a bit too much to resist, even as he noticed her hands lingering on his arms a time or two. 

It wasn't till Saturday that he was all but forced to socialize, a visibly pregnant banging on his trailer door and insisting he come to the Wyrm, cutting off his excuses with "It's the first time we've all been in town since graduation... and if you don't come I'll bring the entire class and every active Serpent in the county to your trailer"

He couldn't help but smile at that, joining her and Fangs for a ride over. At first it wasn't too bad, seeing everyone again... even Reggie clapped him on the back and asked about the book the former jock hadn't read but had heard about. Then the last two guests showed up, Archie is a lettermen jacket and Betty in a pin sweater and ponytail... and his arm around her.

It took everything Jughead had in him not to throw up, or just bolt out the door, but he played it as cool as he could for another half hour before slipping out the back door and walking home. Though he hadn't managed to get away before Betty had said hello and asked if Jessica was here... not sure how she even knew about his sort-of-landlord he simply said "She left a few days back" and avoided the odd look in the green eyes he loved so much.

The next few weeks were more of the same, pretending to have it together at work and in public, avoiding his two oldest 'friends' as much as possible, and retreating as soon as he could back to his trailer to drink his thoughts away alone.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After the party at the Wyrm, she and Archie find themselves alone in his truck on the way back to the Northside... she's driving after just one beer, still on alert as an FBI agent, while he had gotten into a drinking contest with Sweet Pea, Chad, and Reggie. Parking in his garage, she helps him inside, thankful for the PT at Quantico for the first time in ages, his own mass still as impressive as ever as she guides him to the couch... the bedrooms upstairs simply out of reach.

His dark brown eyes look up at her, murmuring "She's married... and he's... he's with Jessica you said... just us now Betty... ", and Betty swallows, sensing what his drunk mind is trying to express. 

"That doesn't mean we are stuck with each other by default. Jughead still won't properly speak to either of us. I'm not... whatever we might have had in the past or could even have now isn't worth the pain we'd cause him" she replied gently, doubting he'd remember and certain they'd have to discuss this again. Tomorrow, she wasn't putting off a hard talk anymore. Part of her was curious, but the fall of senior year she'd gone on a few dates with a local guy at New Haven that reminded her of Archie... simple, charming, a musician who played at the local coffee houses and bars, though his hair was dark and eyes green or hazel or something like that. All she felt was guilt and annoyance at his movie choices the one time she went to his apartment, and realized that despite all the nostalgia it would be the same with Archie.

And there was no way she would risk driving Jughead even further away by confirming his worst fears. The fact that both Fangs and Reggie thought they were together, not just carpooling so one of them could drink, was an obvious sign things needed to change. She had to make it clear to everyone that Archie wasn't an option... not her first choice, not even her backup plan if Jughead was truly lost.

They talked over a late breakfast on Sunday with Betty explaining how she still loved Jughead, and that she wasn't willing to settle for a second choice that would bring him so much pain and prove all his teenage fears correct. Archie agreed, admitting bashfully that he was more lonely than anything, and though they continued hanging out and working together there was an obvious change over the next few weeks... fewer awkward moments, less random touches, and she noticed his eyes wandering... drawn to other pretty girls, but mostly to a certain dark haired big city girl.

That new status quo continued right up until the night she fell into a trap, screaming and crying and begging for someone to find her.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was late at night, unable to sleep and trying not to drink after a minor intervention from the Serpents he'd gone to school with, who could clearly see FP's mistakes repeating themselves in his trailer. It had been a stormy weak, with two more vanishings and, according to Tabitha, at least three more sightings of the 'feathered phantom'. Deciding to investigate on his own, his phone with Betty's new number (courtesy of Fangs and Kevin) feeling heavy in the pocket of his jeans.

By the time he gave into temptation and pulled it out, he didn't have signal anyway, and started circling back... but stopped when he heard a cry for help that sounded worryingly familiar. Hurrying towards the noise he found a small pit, just deep enough to trap a grown woman. In this case, an obviously panicking FBI Agent.

She almost didn't seem to believe it was him even as he lay flat on the front and helped her out, pulling her familiar body into his arms on instinct, stopping just sort of kissing her hair and whispering his long-buried feelings as she started to calm down. Slowly that stood up, but she was clearly favoring her left ankle, and despite the awkwardness and tension and history he guided her arm over his shoulder and his around her waist and they made their way out of the woods... comparing mental notes on the case the entire way.

An hour later, Betty was safely in a hospital bed and he told her "I will make sure Alice and Archie know you are here and alright", turning to leave before he could see her reaction. He called them both as promised, and was just about to leave, to avoid whatever sort of reunion Archie and Betty would share, when Fangs and Kevin barged into the waiting room with an obviously in pain Serpent Queen between their taller bodies. 

Unable to leave now, he waited along with the two other men as others trailed in... the two from Elm Street looking into Betty's status while the rest worried about Toni... and then Betty hobbled out, her foot wrapped up and with an otherwise clean bill of health, not even a concussion from her fall. Jughead looked her over once before stalking off as she turned to Archie and hugged the one she'd always wanted, only avoiding the temptation to leave... to drink away the pain... by knowing how pissed Toni would be at him if he did that tonight.

So he stuck around, all the way till the sun was up and the newborn was ready to meet his many 'aunts and uncles', having avoided Betty and Archie the entire time by some miracle. But they all crowded into the room where the Serpent Queen held court with an infant in her arms, and he couldn't avoid the looks Betty was giving him... or the ones Archie was giving Veronica.

He finally got pressed against Archie while the girls took pictures and whispered "Dude, your girlfriend is hurt, stop staring at a married woman", his anger about nearly everything but the cute baby sharpening his words.

And of course the great oaf, the ginger fool, didn't keep his own voice down as he replied "Jug... Betty and I aren't dating... never did... ", his brown eyes as sincere as ever.

That drew everyone's attention, and Toni's eyes blew wide as she stated "No. You two... or three... or however many it ends up being...", her gaze flickering to Veronica at that part before returning to the boys as she continued "are not doing this here and now. I am not going to traumatize my child with your leftover and out of date teenage angst"

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Veronia stayed put but the other three members of the one time 'core four' made their way out, Betty waiting till they rounded the corner before saying "I told you I chose you, that I would always love you Jug... why did you just assume... ", earning a scoff and eye roll from her ex-boyfriend.

"Yes, because I can clearly trust you to keep your word and tell me the full truth, especially when he's involved" the dark haired boy spat back as they stepped outside, Archie looking increasingly uncomfortable at having tagged along, but turned to his old friend "Hey, man, calm down... we all made mistakes but we don't have to bring them up now"

Betty wasn't sure that helped anything as Jughead pulled away, asking plainly "So... you two never dated? Not a single shared shake at Pop's or picnic in the backyard or anything?", but underneath his skepticism she could see the hint of hope and longing that mirrored her own heart.

"Nothing. We hung out, talked some things out" she replied, before Archie smirked and added "And she made it very clear which of her childhood friends she wanted. It wasn't me man, so I'm just going to... find little Ms Topaz something at the gift shop", slapping Jughead on the shoulder before leaving them alone.

"I'm sorry I just... saw you two together, after everything it was... obvious... " he stammered softly, running his hand through his dark hair as Betty stepped closer, biting her lip and nodding, murmuring "I get it. I mean... I did date other guys... but never him, not... I know what that would mean to you and I would never. And I know you saw other girls too, and that's okay... " but was cut off.

"No, Betty I never... I barely made friends the past seven years, certainly haven't dated anyone" Jughead assured her, his tone and face sincere but Betty shook her head, looking down at the pavement as she admits "No, I saw Jess at your place... it's... it's fine... " 

But his gentle hands cup her face, pulling her back up towards him, smiling "She was my roommate for like ten days, I'm subletting her trailer while she's away... that's all. I've only ever wanted you... not even the gorgeous new mother inside or anyone else could ever pull me away from you Betty Cooper" 

She smiled and let him pull her in for a kiss, not even bothering to ask about Tabitha, only wondering if they could get away with sneaking off to his trailer for the rest of the day without all their friends making a big deal about it. 


End file.
